For the player or collector seeking an instrument that’s not only a classic of its type, but also an unparalleled reproduction of a rare and seminal model, Gibson Acoustic offers the Legends Series. “This is the cream of the crop,” says Mike Voltz, Production Manager of Gibson’s acoustic division. “It’s what all our standards are set for.”

So far the Legends Series consists of just two guitars, the 1937 L-00 and the 1942 J-45. Each is almost entirely hand built in limited numbers to the most exacting specifications, following precise measurement of the best examples of the original guitars that the master luthiers at the Bozeman facility could track down.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever played a better new guitar,” said Eldon Whitford, co-author of Gibson’s Fabulous Flat-top Guitars, after playing the 1942 J-45, which was meticulously based on his own first-year example of the model. For the 1937 L-00 Gibson borrowed famed picker Lee Roy Parnell’s original—a famous instrument in its own right because it has been recorded by so many major Nashville stars. Upon playing the Legend Series reproduction, Parnell commented: “I never thought it possible, but the new 1937 L-00 is actually better than my original. It is very inspiring to play.”